Dehradun : New eye hospital to have air ambulance

After a wait of nearly eight years, the first modern eye hospital, on the lines of PGI Chandigarh, is expected to become operational in the state capital on October 2 this year.August 23, 2015, 04:04 IST

DEHRADUN: After a wait of nearly eight years, the first modern eye hospital, on the lines of PGI Chandigarh, is expected to become operational in the state capital on October 2 this year. The eye centre at Pritam Road will also offer air ambulance services to provide quick medical aid to patients suffering from not just eye ailments but also other diseases.

The four-floored hospital will have a helipad on the terrace, according to PWD officials working on the project. The hospital will come up in a five-bigha plot. The foundation stone for the 200-bed Gandhi Shatabadi Eye and Research Institute was laid in October 2007, and an initial fund of Rs 12 crore was allotted for it. However, due to fund crunch and laxity of PWD officials, the hospital couldn't be completed in 2010, the initial deadline.

The Union government in July 2014 extended support to the hospital by providing additional Rs 9 crore, and the construction work picked up pace. Now, almost 80% construction has been completed, and it is expected to be inaugurated on October 2.

"We all pressed for the need for a new hospital in the city to lighten the ever-increasing burden on Doon Hospital. A few proposals have been sent to the state government to improve the infrastructure at the hospital to cater to the growing number of patients. Hopefully, the upcoming hospital will have many other facilities," said a doctor at Doon Hospital.

TOI has learnt that the health directorate has sent a proposal to the state government for approving nephrology and gastrointestinal units in the upcoming eye hospital.

There would be space in the new hospital as most eye patients do not need to stay overnight.